Wednesday July 18 | 2018
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Times
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OF TONBRIDGE
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ROTARY CLUB ELECTS FEMALE PRESIDENT AFTER 94 YEARS
Local, National and International
THE BEANO AND A SUMMER OF MISCHIEF FOR YOUNG READERS
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NEW TONBRIDGE STRIKER SHOWS SKILLS AGAINST GILLINGHAM
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Wrinkles The suspect is described as being black, aged in his 20s and around 5ft 2in tall. His hair was shaved at the sides and curly on top and he had deep wrinkles to his forehead and a chubby face. He wore a black hooded top, beige knee-length shorts and was carrying a black Nike gym bag. Kent Police have carried out house-to-house checks and reviewed CCTV footage. They are urging anyone who may be able to assist with the investigation to come forward – particularly the woman who is said to have helped the victim. If you have any information about the incident, call Kent Police’s appeals line on 01622 604100, quoting reference YY/023167/18, or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers in Kent anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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INSIDE
Police try to find mystery woman who helped stop assault on teen POLICE want to speak to a woman who courageously intervened to halt an alleged sexual assault in the town. A teenage girl was attacked by a man when she was walking through an alleyway off Lodge Oak Lane at around 3.20pm on Thursday June 28. The suspect is said to have approached her from behind, before inappropriately touching her legs. At around the same time the unknown woman also entered the passageway, and is reported to have run past the man and elbowed him. She and the victim then ran from the scene.
NO HOSEPIPE BAN YET – BUT AVOID WASHING YOUR CAR
WORD TO THE WISE Festival to showcase female voices through ages Page 4
TOP OF THE CLASS
Tonbridge Grammar enjoys superb exam results Page 23
TURNING THE TIDE: Baby Tony is a ‘happy three-yearold that loves life’
Thousands support petition for tougher action on child cruelty By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk MORE than 4,000 people are backing a campaign by the adoptive parents of a boy who was ‘seconds away from dying’ after being abused as a new-born baby. They have launched an online petition, backed by Tonbridge & Malling MP Tom Tugendhat, calling for stiffer sentences for those who commit such crimes. Baby Tony was admitted to hospital at 41 days old in November 2014 suffering from multiple fractures of all his limbs, joint dislocations, blunt trauma impact to his face and many other injuries. He has since been adopted by Paula and Mark Hudgell of Kings Hill, who are now demanding ‘Tougher Sentences for Child Neglect and Cruelty’. Mrs Hudgell said: “It had been left anything up to 10 days before he was taken
to the doctors in an unresponsive state. “He was seconds away from dying when they finally sought medical help. “By this time his poor body had given up to the injuries and he developed sepsis, toxic shock and multi-organ failure. She added: “He was on the brink of death and if it wasn’t for the amazing
‘These children need more protection and justice. Who will fight for them?’ NHS working so quickly and tirelessly on him for the next three months he would not have survived.” However, last year he had to have both his legs amputated because of the injuries and infection. He will still need multiple operations for the rest of his life and is deaf in one ear. But his adoptive mother says ‘he is a
happy three-year-old that loves life’. In February this year, Tony Smith and Jody Simpson were found guilty of causing or allowing serious harm to a child and child cruelty for the abuse they committed against their son. They were sentenced to a maximum of 10 years on the first charge and five years on the second, with the terms to run concurrently rather than consecutively. If Baby Tony had died, the sentence would have been increased by four years. Now Simpson has launched an appeal against the length of her sentence. Mrs Hudgell was shocked to hear that development. But she said: “The reason for this petition is not to change the sentence already given but for Parliament to raise the threshold of maximum sentences for future cases.
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CHILDLIKE WONDER Julia Donaldson’s classics come to EM Forster Page 51
ANGELS’ DELIGHT
Ladies triumphant after two penalty shoot-outs Page 70